The Survivor EMERGENCY That Had Us CRINGING

Entertainment

Posted on September 06, 2016

Survivor Australia contestant Kate Campbell says having her underarm boil treated on the reality show was one of the most painful things she's ever endured.

That's really saying something as when Campbell was 19, she was in a horrific boating accident which resulted in 10 hours of emergency surgery. When she woke up ten days later from a coma she had to learn to walk, talk and eat again.

"Unfortunately if anyone was going to undergo a medical emergency on the island I think it would have to be me," Campbell told AAP.

On Monday's Survivor, the WA girl is seen having medical treatment on an infected boil under her arm.

Campbell said the abscess, which grew to the size of a 50 cent piece. came from an ingrown hair.

"As horrible as it sounds, we didn't have any shavers or we didn't wash ourselves on the island and obviously the fact I couldn't shave my under-arms, the hair started to grow into my under-arm rather than out," she said.

'It was basically an ingrown hair where the follicle became infected and turned into a golf-ball sized piece of pus under my arm which was pretty gross."

Campbell tried to forget about it but it became too big and painful for her to ignore.

"It was so painful that I couldn't put my arm down by my side, so I realised I had to bite the bullet and tell my teammates and tell someone about it," she said.

Campbell had to have emergency treatment and her abscess was drained in the Survivor camp in Samoa.

"There are so many nerve endings there that I could feel every slice and squeeze," she said.

"I tried to keep a brave face but it was one of the most painful things I've experienced - which is saying something, because of the amount of pain I've been through in my life."

It's a blow for the 28-year-old who made sure she was fighting fit before she entered the reality show.

Last year she did a marathon and the Rottnest Channel Swim.

"None of my previous operations were actually an issue for me at the time," she said.

*Survivor airs on Network Ten on Tuesday at 7.30pm

AAP

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